[Dalton Greynolds]

Originally by Powerslide
LET'S MAKE THIS WORK PEOPLE!

Okay, now as anyone could see there are HUNDREDS of tech threads floating around in CD - ranging from questions about graphics hardware, to questions about pricier graphics hardware and other tech such as monitors, hard drives and Processors to announcement threads of new technology and more. (I accede - I'm not being very eloquent here

Any questions you have, tech news or ANYTHING related to buying/selling/information/announcements of new hardware should go here.

For example, if you come to the forums to ask "What is the better graphics hardware" or "What sort of RAM should I put in my PC?" then it should go here - I'm a little hazy, I know - but please keep all those graphics card and tech questions to one thread! Please!
So here's the summary, all:

• Announcements and queries on new or unreleased tech
  
• Benchmarks and results of hardware/discussion
  
• Questions on what sort of hardware you need/want for your machine
  
• Questions about existing tech and/or function
  
• Pricing and recommendations

Should be kept to THIS THREAD.

This has been A-okayed by CCNA for all who were wondering - it's up to you to stop filling CD with the same topics again and again that ask what the most powerful card in existence is so you can (not) buy it.

If you feel you have a question or can answer one - please feel free to do so.

Also, this is a great thread for you PC newbs, for learning more about your PC and hardware. http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=258050&st=0&p=4626051&#entry4626051

Also, a useful site for a frame of reference (not actual numbers), http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.html?modelx=33&model1=476&model2=477&chart=174, and http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics.html?modelx=33&model1=519&model2=547&chart=211


Thanks all.
Adding more links shortly, thank you for your patience.

(Threads 1-82 have been all pruned, may they rest in peace)


http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=1069729
http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=1073705
http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=1076918
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1079401-the-community-tech-thread-%2386/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1084024-the-community-tech-thread-no-87/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1090141-the-community-tech-thread-no-88/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1094900-the-community-tech-thread-no-89/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1102258-the-community-tech-thread-no-90/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1108118-the-community-tech-thread-no-91/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1112884-the-community-tech-thread-no-92/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1118559-the-community-tech-thread-no-93/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1145193-the-community-tech-thread-no-94/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1153130-the-community-tech-thread-no-95/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1160717-the-community-tech-thread-no-96/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1167952-the-community-tech-thread-no-97/

Do I also have to put a big glowing neon sign to this in my signature? THERE ARE TOO MANY TECH THREADS - THIS IS NOT A FORUM FOR YOUR TECH WOES!

But we will gladly help you anyway.

Honour list:
Nottheking
Lord Athanar (SUPER-PINK!)
Insaneturbo13
Anothercanadian
Tig Ol' Bitties
Dogsbody
CCNA (Moderator)
Níeh?ggr
wolfpup
Wierd
Softnerd
wingus
DEFRON
Qwaxalot
iGuess


Oh and PLEASE, if you want us to "Build" you a PC, please indicate the following:
1.) your budget in your country's currency
2.) what country you reside if not listed in your avatar area
3.) pre-assembled PC? ...or can you build your own?
4.) what is needed other than the PC tower? Monitor, speakers, mouse, keyboard, Windows OS disc? All these can jack up the price.
5.) product preferences, preferred seller, and intended aim

but please, no "I want teh superererest Peecee evar1!!!!11!1", because really, only Bill Gates has that much moolah.

And, speaking of building your own PC, two good how-to videos from Newegg (thanks to SpankyTheElf for finding these):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CStOC0hET8 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3buj5cIh2Bs&feature=related

Other useful links
http://trinityhome.org/Home/index.php?wpid=1&front_id=12
http://tools.corsairmemory.com/systembuild/report.aspx?report_id=12472
http://www.memtest86.com/
http://www.techpowerup.com/atitool/
http://entechtaiwan.com/util/ps.shtm
http://www.irfanview.com/
http://www.knoppix.org/
http://www.jonnyguru.com/
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showthread.php?t=136602
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php
http://www.cpuid.com/pcwizard.php
http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/
http://www.crucial.com/systemscanner/
http://tftcentral.co.uk/
http://www.apple.com/itunes/
http://www.futuremark.com/products/3dmark06/
http://www.fraps.com/

[Vicky Keeler]

Will a 5770 paired with an i5-650 and 4GB ram be able to play games smoothly on max settings at a 1920x1080 resolution? Or should I try and stretch my budget as far as possible and get a 6850?

[Jeneene Hunte]

How dated is my Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600?

Its frequency is 2.4 GHz and it has a has a 2*4MB L2 cache.

I can't really afford an upgrade right now so I'm not looking for a replacement. I'd be more interested in overclocking it tbh, if my crappy power supply is up for it. I don't know much about hardware (I'm learning though) so I don't know about the power demands of CPUs. :shrug:

[Motionsharp]

As for the RAM, you should match the specifications as closely as possible to avoid issues....preferably the exact same sticks brand and model-wise. If mixing and matching is the only option, then match the speed and timings as close as possible to your existing RAM. CPU-Z will certainly reveal the type of memory you are using:
http://www.cpuid.com...ares/cpu-z.html

Be forewarned....there is still the possibility of your motherboard being picky about what you're mixing as well.

Cheers for the Graphics card recommendation.

As for the RAM, it was this http://www.ebuyer.com/product/166463 which has been discontinued, at least on that particular site.

[luke trodden]

How dated is my Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600?

Its frequency is 2.4 GHz and it has a has a 2*4MB L2 cache.

I can't really afford an upgrade right now so I'm not looking for a replacement. I'd be more interested in overclocking it tbh, if my crappy power supply is up for it. I don't know much about hardware (I'm learning though) so I don't know about the power demands of CPUs. :shrug:

Same CPU as mine, I overclocked it to 3.2 GHz and it works fine for me. I probably wouldn't go past 3.2 though

[Monique Cameron]

Will a 5770 paired with an i5-650 and 4GB ram be able to play games smoothly on max settings at a 1920x1080 resolution? Or should I try and stretch my budget as far as possible and get a 6850?

It depends on what games you're planning on playing. The 5770 is a relatively old card, so running present/future games on max in 1920x1080 and expecting smooth framerates is pushing it. You'd do much better squeezing out an extra $50 and buying a 6850.

[Catharine Krupinski]

For data archiving, what advantages do the archival software (winrar, 7zip etc...) have over just storing the raw files? (other than the compression factor) do they make the files more safe with their error check and recovery features?

[kyle pinchen]

You'd do much better squeezing out an extra $50 and buying a 6850.

Especially if you flash the card to run the 6870's BIOS, to unlock even more oomph. :nod:

[Anthony Diaz]

For data archiving, what advantages do the archival software (winrar, 7zip etc...) have over just storing the raw files? (other than the compression factor) do they make the files more safe with their error check and recovery features?

Your archive is just that: a timestamped snapshot of the files. This allows for multiple archives of different timestamps, meaning you have file versioning, meaning your chances of your archive being useful is much greater.

Archives do have some rudimentary CRC for error checking, but it does not really do anything for recovery in the event of errors. However, doing proper versioning through archives (as mentioned above) does.

Basically just archives are not going to help you: you need a proper backup system.

[Arrogant SId]

Especially if you flash the card to run the 6870's BIOS, to unlock even more oomph. :nod:

I've never heard of the 6850 to 6870 flash, only the 6950 to 6970, which unlocks the disabled shaders giving a nice performance boost.

[He got the]

Just how the hell do I get my android phone to show up in my Windows Media Player sync list? With my BBerry, I could just drag and drop what I wanted into the list, but I can't even it to show up.

I just got an HTC Thunderbolt, and I'd like to start filling that 32 gig card up.

[ImmaTakeYour]

Just how the hell do I get my android phone to show up in my Windows Media Player sync list? With my BBerry, I could just drag and drop what I wanted into the list, but I can't even it to show up.

I just got an HTC Thunderbolt, and I'd like to start filling that 32 gig card up.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110319011313AAZRPTO

Or you can use a http://blog.winamp.com/2010/11/30/wirelessly-sync-music-to-your-android-phone/

[aisha jamil]

I've never heard of the 6850 to 6870 flash, only the 6950 to 6970, which unlocks the disabled shaders giving a nice performance boost.

Yeah, the 6950 to 6970 flash unlocks those nice extra shader pipes, but I think I've read somewhere that flashing the 6850 to 6870 could potentially increase the clock speeds (from 850 to 1000 MHz, as I recall actually, it's from 725 to 900 MHz) even though the extra shaders remained locked.

Possibly might not work for every card, but I found http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1562148 discussion about it at least.

[Phillip Hamilton]

Your archive is just that: a timestamped snapshot of the files. This allows for multiple archives of different timestamps, meaning you have file versioning, meaning your chances of your archive being useful is much greater.

Archives do have some rudimentary CRC for error checking, but it does not really do anything for recovery in the event of errors. However, doing proper versioning through archives (as mentioned above) does.

Basically just archives are not going to help you: you need a proper backup system.

What do you mean by "back up" system? Make a lot of copies of the file? I'm already storing it on 3 HDDs. And I'm going to burn it onto a DVD.

But Winrar does have CRC checking, do raw sound/image/video files have that? And they say 10% recovery record can repair nearly all damages to a Winrar volume.

[Lexy Corpsey]

What do you mean by "back up" system? Make a lot of copies of the file? I'm already storing it on 3 HDDs. And I'm going to burn it onto a DVD.

Any strategy and mechanism in place to back up data is a backup system. A good one deploys file versioning and involves backing up to multiple devices

But Winrar does have CRC checking, do raw sound/image/video files have that?

Players/viewers for them can do CRC checks on the file and kick up errors.

And they say 10% recovery record can repair nearly all damages to a Winrar volume.

A recovery record is basically redundant data. It's like versioning within the archive. A claim stating that 10% recovery record can repair nearly all damages I would say is nothing more than advertising. Proper file versioning is far superior to a recovery record in an archive IMO.

Archives are great for how simple they make versioning, but I personally am leery as to how effective recovery records are, preferring straight-up versioning.

[jaideep singh]

Players/viewers for them can do CRC checks on the file and kick up errors.

Can you show me an article explaining how that works? I don't see any hash record for regular files on my drive.

Thanks.

[Philip Rua]

Can you show me an article explaining how that works? I don't see any hash record for regular files on my drive.

Thanks.

http://falcon1986.wordpress.com/2010/09/10/how-to-fix-avi-files-within-ubuntu-quick-command/

When actually trying to play a corrupted file, it generally goes like this:

1. Player tries playing file

2. Player kicks up error

3. Player tries auto-correcting for the error (does not always work)

Not all players can do it, and it also depends on the file container.

[Tiffany Castillo]

Any strategy and mechanism in place to back up data is a backup system. A good one deploys file versioning and involves backing up to multiple devices

Programs such as http://backuppc.sourceforge.net/* can simplify (or complicate...) a lot of it by automation.

*First example that sprung to mind, may be excessive for some needs.

[Jah Allen]

Programs such as http://backuppc.sourceforge.net/* can simplify (or complicate...) a lot of it by automation.

*First example that sprung to mind, may be excessive for some needs.

BackupPC is a bit overkill for a single PC backup

However, it's data de-duplication is awesome for full backups of multiple PCs.

My two favorite automated backup solutions (for Windows) ATM are http://thebackupmonkey.blogspot.com/ and http://www.educ.umu.se/~cobian/cobianbackup.htm. CrashPlan is a third option, but I'm less than thrilled about their free offering feature-wise for anything other than simplified P2P off-site backups.

[Connie Thomas]

BackupPC is a bit overkill for a single PC backup

But.. But... I thought everyone but me had a dedicated backup server, even if they've only got one old computer with no significant data on it!

:P

[Silvia Gil]

http://falcon1986.wordpress.com/2010/09/10/how-to-fix-avi-files-within-ubuntu-quick-command/

When actually trying to play a corrupted file, it generally goes like this:

1. Player tries playing file

2. Player kicks up error

3. Player tries auto-correcting for the error (does not always work)

Not all players can do it, and it also depends on the file container.

so in other words players try to hide errors from you keeping you in ignorance? Like maybe there is a 1/10 second of silence at some otherwise still very quiet part that you wouldn't notice.

[michael flanigan]

so in other words players try to hide errors from you keeping you in ignorance? Like maybe there is a 1/10 second of silence at some otherwise still very quiet part that you wouldn't notice.

Depends on the player. Some will tell you there is an error, others won't. It is very player-dependant what will happen. As I said, only some can do it, others will just fail to play the file.

But.. But... I thought everyone but me had a dedicated backup server, even if they've only got one old computer with no significant data on it!

:P

Oh, they all do, rest assured, they just don't use BackupPC

:P

I wish that were true, at least...

[Bonnie Clyde]

.

[steve brewin]

what's your definition of "error"?

http://books.google.ca/books?id=DVIfmAWQpoIC&pg=PA249&lpg=PA249&dq=file+integrity+raw+raw+%22still+a+valid%22&source=bl&ots=uO8dJJt25g&sig=rQdF8r4ksGxis9fZojjRCgapErE&hl=en&ei=sxSUTerYCYqRgQfNn8zCCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=file%20integrity%20raw%20raw%20%22still%20a%20valid%22&f=false

This page shows a corrupted image that is still a valid raw file. How can the program identify it as corrupted if the file doesn't have embedded checksum logs?

[Joanne]

what's your definition of "error"?

http://books.google.ca/books?id=DVIfmAWQpoIC&pg=PA249&lpg=PA249&dq=file+integrity+raw+raw+%22still+a+valid%22&source=bl&ots=uO8dJJt25g&sig=rQdF8r4ksGxis9fZojjRCgapErE&hl=en&ei=sxSUTerYCYqRgQfNn8zCCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=file%20integrity%20raw%20raw%20%22still%20a%20valid%22&f=false

This page shows a corrupted image that is still a valid raw file. How can the program identify it as corrupted if the file doesn't have embedded checksum logs?

"Not all players can do it, and it also depends on the file container."

If there is no information in the header about what the file should look like, then nothing can be done (or, in the reverse situation: if the header is corrupted, then the header can be rebuilt assuming the data is still good)

Basically: stop obsessing over file corruption. Set up a good backup system with 30 days of file versioning and you won't have a problem (within a reasonable amount of error ). No need for checksums or anything.